Please refrain from belittling people for language skills. Finsky (from Finland) handles the English better as a second language than a lot of people do as a first language.I'm not sure if this a jab at Finsky or not,but for now I'll assume the latter and let it go at that.

Yep, Finski, that's what I tried to get across in our recent discussion on feral stock. The American continent is huge with a broad range of climatic conditions. How did we ever get the idea that our bees should be a one size fits all breed.

"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may remember,involve me and I'll understand" Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." John F. KennedyFranklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Isn't that exactly what the current commercial queen/package market tries to do though? A one size fits all bee instead of a bee that has been tried and tested in the local climate?

IMHO

The current commercial queen/package are just tyring to stray open.

BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

Logged

"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may remember,involve me and I'll understand" Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." John F. KennedyFranklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

.I toggle my mobile on soffa and I am not worried about my language. It is what it is.Sometimes I am quite tired. I have picked billberries in hot woods 100 litres and sold them. 3,5 euros a litre. Next 100 litre orders are in.

in good place I pick 30 litres in 2 hours.

More I am worried about carbage which you write in this forum ecery day.Beekeeping knowledge sucks somewhere!

Best berry places are in cutted areas where rotten twiggs give nutritions to plants

Well, Finski, now you know why so may American beekeepers always fall back on the line..."All beekeeping is local"...

The US is pretty large with so many different growing zones. Heck, the country spans 4 time zones. You can easily see how it's even difficult for beeks in the same state to give advice to others in the same state. Just look at Florida, for example. Some places have no real winter (although after last couple of years that's debatable) while others do see some freezing temps. Also have many states that have HUGE swings in temps. Midwest, deep freezes with hot, hot temps possible in summer. Lots of variance and diversity in both climate and people as well as beekeeping methods. ;)

Well, Finski, now you know why so may American beekeepers always fall back on the line..."All beekeeping is local"...

I have studied geography in university. I have red that you have quick weather changes because you do not have mountains or barricades against air movements in South - north direction. I know too about your sea streams.

What you have is short winter compared to Alaska and to Finland. But the most bad thing is (I suppose) hard winds and hurricanes. We have not much storm here. 'I live quite near seacost and it makes the weather mild as long as sea has no ice cover.

However, if we do not use here insulated boxes, bees cannot survive because they use too much food.

Our winter is harsh and it does not forgive anything.It is better to learn at once or you do not have hives in spring

It is funny to read how Californian beeks give advices to Canadian beeks that they need not insulation.

The most stupid idea what I have read in forums is that "cold does not kill but moisture kills".

We have a song " a spirit droplet does not kill and you cannot sink into bucket" but however alcohol kills men in work age than in another country in western Europe.And now alcohol is killing more and more women.

I was talking to someone about billberries last weekend as we were picking blueberries up in northern Minnesota. The old timers used those pickers that you posted a pic of, but they strip the green, unripe berries too so they quickly fell out of fashion.

You are correct that picking is not for the weak. I have done it since I was a child. It is always hot, dry and buggy. The stumps and fallen logs make walking treacherous. But that is part of the draw for me! I like a hard picking day followed by a hot wood-fired sauna and a jump in the lake.

The blueberries were spread thin but I managed to pick a couple gallons. I could never sell those precious morsels. They sustain my blueberry muffin habit for a year. Nothing compares to a wild blueberry.

They do 16 hours days to earn their living and pay back the airplane ticket.

This is sad. The price of berries rises 10 fold compared picker price to customer price.Somebody takes the real money from chain.Unemployed guys here do not go to woods but they are ready stop that berry picking.

Some Vietnamies and so have organized the whole berry picking-customer selling system but I do not know honest the group working is. berry picking is taxfree.Mostly the hardest workers get smallest payment..

**Some Vietnamies and so have organized the whole berry picking-customer selling system but I do not know honest the group working is. berry picking is taxfree.Mostly the hardest workers get smallest payment.**

who owns the land the berries grow on -is it open space for anyone to rome about and pick berries- :? RDY-B.